EDU100: Final Blog

EDU100: Final Blog


I have learned a great deal throughout our Education: Premise of School class this semester.  Since this is an online class, I think that the use of blogs were very helpful and aided our learning about education.  I enjoyed writing them because although there was a topic of direction, we had the freedom to research and reflect upon a topic of our interest, and got to share this information with our classmates.  I'm glad I learned how to make a blog, and more about the Blogger website, because it is a great way to share your ideas, and blogs have become increasingly common in todays society.  Through writing these blogs I learned about various types of education systems, various educational philosophers, and different ways for teachers to make their classrooms culturally responsive.  I also learned about many current issues and debates going on in terms of education that I formerly had no knowledge of.

This is the first education class that I have taken, and after taking it I feel as though I have a good basis of the premise of schools.  I chose this course because although I am not going to be a teacher, I am going to be a councilor at schools, so I figured that having some basis in education could be helpful.  I learned a lot of things that I was unaware of such as the responsibilities that teachers have to try and help their students succeed in culturally diverse classrooms.  I learned about different teachers techniques as well as different learning styles of teaching.  It was also interesting to find out how much of a role the government plays in establishing set curriculum, and how making the teacher teach to the test can stifle the creativity of both the teacher and the student.  I was very interested in the topics of students with disabilities and learning disorders because these are the types of children I want to help when I go into my line of work in the future.  Another thing that I thought was interesting was the comparison we saw between public education systems in the United States, as compared with other countries teaching methods.  I think this class was very informative and I learned a lot about the education system as a whole!

Rudolf Steiner: Waldorf Educational Philosophy

Rudolf Steiner

The person that I chose to research is Rudolf Steiner, the founder of the Waldorf educational philosophy.  He was an Austrian philosopher who lived from 1861 until 1925.  He was the founder of Anthroposophy, which is the belief that a person can attain experience of the spiritual world.  Steiner was also known to be a skilled architect, scientist, lecturer, writer, designer, and painter.   


The Waldorf education is based on the thought that learning should integrate practical, artistic, and conceptual elements to be successful.  Strong emphasis is placed on the role of imagination, and children are encouraged to use a combination of a creative and analytical approach to learning.  This type of learning allows for each individual student to pick their own unique path of moral learning.  Teaching in the Waldorf education systems allows for a great deal of freedom for teachers in the curriculum that is more based on children's academic, emotional, and physical development as opposed to high standardized test scores.  The Waldorf education system also emphasizes the importance of kindergarten and how it should be an imaginative experience for students with use of outdoor time, nature lessons, songs, story time, and fun games.  As students get older they will continue with visual arts, drama, and music, and when they reach high school, they will have specialized teachers for each subject.  At all times the school aims for socially responsible, cultural, compassionate, and respectful individuals. These types of schools are more commonly found in areas of Europe and the amounts have been increasing rapidly.  


I chose to write about Rudolf Steiner because from reading about him it seems like he was very smart and talented, so I want to know more about his educational views.  Also I had previously heard about the Waldorf educational philosophy.  What I heard seemed interesting, so I wanted to research it for this blog to learn more about this particular system.  It's interesting how we put children into schools, all controlled by a single standardized curriculum.  These types of systems do take certain aspects of uniqueness from children, because they are expected to all perform the same.  It also give strict curriculum for teachers to go by, so they cannot express their true creativity in their teaching methods either.  This is why I think the Steiner's Waldorf system is an interesting perspective that could be more successful today.  

Educational Metaphor: Teachers are Like Gardeners Planting Knowledge

I believe that teachers are like gardeners, and the seeds represent the knowledge they give.  At a young age children are like the seed, young and beginning to grow.  They need the attention and care from their teachers, as a seed needs to be watered and nurtured by the gardener.  Children begin to learn and grow from this new knowledge they learn in schools, just as the plants begin to grow.  This continues until the children or the plant are old enough and strong enough to be on their own.  Eventually the children will grow up and spread their own knowledge to others, just as the grown plant will spread its seeds.  This can apply to diversity because just like teachers need to become more culturally responsive to students in their classroom, gardeners also have to be aware in the differences of his seeds, so he can nurture them to grow correctly.

So far I have learned a lot in this course that has really interested me.  I want to work in school systems, so I feel like much of what I learned will help me in the future.  I have learned about what to expect as a new teacher, and how to adjust to culturally diverse classrooms so both the teachers and the students have good experiences.  Another thing I learned from this course was different teaching methods which I observed in two different classrooms.  I think it is interesting the way kids react to the different teaching methods used by the teachers.  I also have learned about the many laws surrounding the education system which I was previously unaware of, so I think this course has been great!

Should Teachers Become More Culturally Sensitive?

Should Teachers Become More Culturally Sensitive?

Teachers advocating for social justice aim to have classrooms and schools that are anti-racist, multicultural, and grounded in the experiences of their students. The goal is for all children to obtain an academically rigorous education that is caring and critical, and will help students pose their own critical questions about society in which they "talk back" to the world.  Educators teaching for social justice aim not for high standardized test scores, but instead for the success of students in the real world.  One aspect of this teaching method of social justice is for teachers to become more culturally sensitive.  This is because many White teachers are going to enter the work force, and it is highly likely that they will be educating children of various ethnic and cultural backgrounds that are different from their own.  This requires teachers to realize that they do not know everything, and they need to open themselves up to learn information about the students, their backgrounds, and the area where the students live.  Teachers need to take into account not only culture and race, but social class of the students as well.  Talking to the students' parents is a great method for teachers to connect with the family and learn about the student.  Teachers can also get out and be involved in the students community, as well as talk to colleagues that have worked in the school system and dealt with various aspect of diversity successfully.  

Personally since we live in a country with so much diversity, I feel that social justice should be involved and incorporated into all classrooms.  Through my research I found many teachers, organizations, and entire schools that practice teaching social justice, and hopefully this continues to catch on.  I can relate to this because many of the children that I work with daily come from various racial background and social classes.  Through my conversations with parents, we have worked together to stop certain problems the child was having, and many situations were attributed to different factors regarding diversity.  One child would always show up without a lunch so of course we would buy him food, but clearly there was a bigger problem at hand because this happened on multiple occasions.  We set up a meeting with the boys mother, who we found out was a single parent, suffering with a life threatening illness, and lacking sufficient money for caring for herself or her child.  It was definitely eye opening to see what this child had been going through, and the knowledge of that let us help both the mother and the child.  The YMCA has since provided them with lower cost housing and free child care.  Also, the grandmother has since moved in with them, and the household environment is a lot more stable.  Without taking the initiative to find out more about the students background, these poor living conditions would have continued for the child. Through talking to parents and being involved in the children's community I feel we have been more culturally sensitive to these students and these changes are something that I would like to see in all education systems on a large scale.  

Will Pragmatism Work in Schools?

Will Pragmatism Work in Schools?

Pragmatism is a type of liberal educational philosophy that focuses on preparing children for leadership in the community and the workplace through teaching the practical function of knowledge as is applies to reality.  The role of students is to actively learn and participate in the class.  The teachers aim to convey inductive and deductive reasoning, the scientific method, and the powers of observation and practice.  The main aspects of what goes on in the class are group work, hands on curricula, and experimentation.  The goal of pragmatic teaching is to emphasize citizenship, knowledge and skills that can be applied to daily life, and career or job preparation.  John Dewey believed that people can govern themselves, and that the point of education is to simply enhance the human potential.  Pictured below are graduates from Aviation High School, which is a pragmatic school that teaches technical education.  Along with regular high school classes, their extra time is filled with enrollment in air frame and power shop classes.  They provide a very hands on educational experience for students, and have over 20 planes and equipment on sight, so students can learn hands-on.  It is a successful program in which students who graduate become FAA certified and are ready to obtain jobs as airline mechanics, engineers, or pilots.

I think this idea of a pragmatic education can be very successful.  The students at Aviation High are learning basic education, as well as learning about something they are interested in and want to do in the future.  By attending a high school focused to their interest and future professions, they will have an upper hand in getting a job when they graduate.  Sometimes in high school and college in particular, I feel like I have taken many classes that are irrelevant to my life and what I want to do in the future.  It would be better if students could choose what they want to focus on and take classes that involve them with hands-on activities and class discussions. Instead of teachers just giving out "busy work" I think the idea of focusing education on real life situations and problem solving will be much more beneficial to children in the long run.  I think pragmatism is a realistic approach that aims to help students focus on their interests and obtain good jobs.  

Has Inclusion Gone too Far in Schools?

Has Inclusion Gone too Far in Schools?

Personally, from working with elementary aged children, I have seen first hand how inclusion can affect a children, teachers, and the classroom setting in different ways. One example is of a kindergarten boy who was deaf for the first three years of his life.  When he first entered the program he could barely speak or socialize with anyone.  Now, 5 months later from being enrolled in a normal school and after school program, I have seen him come such a long way.  He can now have full conversations with us and has made friends with many of his classmates.  This is an example of how I've witnessed inclusion work, because in a separate classroom setting I don't think that he would have developed as well socially with his classmates.  On the other hand, I have witnessed a case of a child with bad mood disorders and bipolar disorder that has been included in the classroom and after school setting.  This boy needs special care and attention in a private class because he cannot interact with the staff or other children without being violent and lashing out.  He is very hard to deal with and many of the other students are afraid of him.  He has been through three one-on-one workers and still no one has been able to help him. I think this is an example of how inclusion is not a good idea because the boy needs special attention of someone trained to teach him.  Also it can be stressful for the teachers and slow down the rest of the class and cause a lot of disruption.  I think that it depends on the situation of the child on whether or not inclusion is the right idea.  I chose this topic because I am interested to find out more about inclusion in schools. 

Inclusion is "the idea that all children, including those with disabilities, should and can learn in a regular classroom." This means children with special educational needs will spend their educational time with non-disabled students.  The idea behind this is that its the right of these children to be able to learn with their peers and not have to be placed in separate classrooms because it violates their rights.  Although this seems fair, inclusion can have both positive and negative aspects.  In some cases children with minor behavioral issues such as A.D.D. can do fine in a regular classroom with easy accommodations, such as being able to get up and take a break during writing assignments.  In other cases, as Albert Shanker, writer for the American Federation of Teachers, wrote that "children with disabilities are individuals with differing needs; some benefit from inclusion and others do not. Full inclusionists don't see that medically fragile children and children with severe behavioral disorders are more likely to be harmed than helped when they are placed in regular classrooms where teachers do not have the highly specialized training to deal with their needs." This shows that in some cases inclusion can actually be detrimental to the child because they really do need to have special attention from a trained teacher.  I think that people who push for full inclusion need to realize this that depending on the situation it is not always right for the students.  

The Utah Education Association has created a list of things that can help make inclusion work and will prevent the fear of students being dumped into mainstream classrooms.  

• Adequate supports and services for the student
• Well-designed individualized education program
• Professional development for all teachers involved (both general and special educators)
• Time for teachers to plan, meet, create, and evaluate the students together
• Reduced class size based on the severity of the student needs
• Professional skill development in the areas of cooperative learning, peer tutoring, adaptive curriculum, varied learning styles, etc.
• Collaboration between parents, teachers, and administrators
• Sufficient funding so that schools will be able to develop programs for students based on student need instead of the availability of funding, or lack thereof

Overall, I think that it would be a good idea to include as many of the ideas above to help children be included in the normal classroom, but in some cases it is necessary for students with certain disabilities to have a special classroom and specialized teacher to help them.  

How Can Teachers Become More Culturally Responsive?

How Can Teachers Become More Culturally Responsive?

I found an interesting article written by The National Center for Culturally Responsive Educational Systems (NCCREST).  Their goal is to support state and local school systems to assure a quality, culturally responsive education for all students.  The authors state that "teachers must create a classroom culture where all students regardless of their cultural and linguistic background are welcomed and supported, and provided with the best opportunity to learn." They focus on three dimensions to create a culturally responsive school: institutional, personal, and instructional.  I'm going to focus on the personal dimension, which refers to the cognitive and emotional processes teachers must engage in to become culturally responsive.  Students behave differently at home then they are supposed to in school, depending on their culture and background.  This article aims to help teachers bridge the gap between home and school to teach a diverse group of students.  I've noticed this both in my own work experience and during my observation hours at the elementary school.  Students from different cultural backgrounds behave differently in classrooms because they are used to acting a certain way at home.  Teachers need to be understanding of this instead of yelling at the students.  One example of this at my work is a new student we have from India.  At first, he didn't follow any rules, and would just leave the room without permission.  He acted this way because he had never been in a school setting with structured rules, so at home he was used to behaving that way.  This is why it is important that teachers become culturally responsive to students.   

Specific Activities for Becoming a Culturally Responsive Teacher

1. Engage in reflective thinking and writing; discern personal motives that govern teaching behaviors, first step to changing behavior regarding racism, ethnocentrism, etc. 
2. Explore personal and family history; explore early experiences that contributed to their understanding of themselves as racial or nonracial beings, will help relate better to other individuals after realizing the historical shaping of their own views
3. Acknowledge membership in different groups; recognize affiliation with different groups in society, see the advantages/disadvantages of belonging to each group
4. Learn about the history and experiences of diverse groups; understand how different historical experiences have shaped attitudes and perspectives of different groups
5. Visit students' families and communities; going into students community and become familiar with their home lives, gain insight on students attitudes and behaviors
6. Visit or read about successful teachers in diverse settings; observe and gain exemplary models for developing their own teaching skills
7. Develop an appreciation of diversity; view difference as a norm in society and reject notions that any one group is more competent than another
8. Participate in reforming the institution; question traditional policies and practice

These are some ways that the authors suggest a teacher can have culturally responsive views.  The article also has an interesting section on activities teachers can use for culturally responsive instruction.  I think that a teacher having these views is important, especially in a diverse school setting.  The author states that "teachers must be culturally responsive, utilizing materials and examples, engaging in practices, and demonstrating values that include rather than exclude students from different backgrounds and by so doing, teachers fulfill their responsibility to all their students." If I were to go into the field of teaching, I would try to incorporated these suggestions in my own attitude towards teaching and being culturally responsive. 

Home Schooling vs. Traditional Schooling: Which Provides a Better Overall Education?

Home Schooling vs. Traditional Schooling: Which Provides a Better Overall Education?

I have become increasingly interested in the idea of homeschooling in comparison to education at a regular public school.  I work at the YMCA, usually in the after school program for elementary aged children grades K-5.  On Thursdays, however, from 8-2 before that I work for the home school program with children of the same age.  There are about 20 home schooled children that come in every Thursday, and our job is to supervise them as they interact and play with each other during different activities throughout the day.  I find this very interesting that parents need to set up a time to bring their children together for their only social interaction with other children, where as most kids that age see their friends all day in school as well as after school.  Now that I have a basis of comparison I can see that these home school children behave completely different than the children who go to traditional public school.  On one hand, the home school children are very well behaved, and there is little need to ever yell at any of them, where as children in a regular school setting take a lot more effort to deal with.  On the other hand however, I have noticed that many of the home school children are not only well behaved, but socially awkward, and have a hard time making friends and interacting with their peers.  Many of the children still have a hard time leaving their mothers when they drop them off and they are in 3rd or 4th grade! Although we don't deal with the home school children in terms of academics, I was SHOCKED to see the little amount of information that the older kids knew, such as basic information like the capital of Massachusetts or the current president.  After witnessing this I am interested to see the benefits and disadvantages of the two types of schooling.    

Home Schooling: Pros

• Allows curriculum to be adjusted to the students individual needs
• Religious beliefs can be taught while home schooling
• One on one attention for student 
• Freedom to choose your own schedule
• No exposure to problems that come along with public schooling

Home Schooling: Cons

• Parents may not be qualified to teach
• Less opportunity for children to interact with a diverse group of students
• More expensive than public school
• Time consuming for parents
• Harder for student to apply to college
• Child may feel isolated from others their age

Public School: Pros

• Learning in a group setting
• Many extracurricular activities: sports, chorus, drama, clubs, groups, etc.
• Socially diverse education
• Free to attend
• Convenient: buses provided, close to home
• More resources for students: computers, libraries, gym, etc. 

Public School: Cons

• High student/teacher ratio
• Less independence due to scheduled learning
• No say in curriculum
• Possible problems with peers: bullying, learning bad habits, or exposure to drugs/alcohol
• Too much emphasis on state testing

Overall, there are clearly positive and negative aspects to both types of schooling.  From my own experiences, and after reviewing this information, in the future for my own children, I will choose traditional public school.  I feel this way because I see these home school children every week and I feel as though they lack sufficient social skills as well as educational awareness of current events.  I'm sure their parents intended to home school so they could get a good education, but I think it has back fired in many of these situations.  These parents may not be qualified to teach, lack the time it takes to truly educate their children, or do not focus on a broad enough curriculum.  Looking back on my own time in public school, I would never want to miss spending time with friends, going to prom, high school graduation, playing on sports teams, going on school ski trips, etc.  I feel like all children deserve these opportunities, and home schooling makes it hard for them to live the life of a normal child.  I don't personally know anyone my own age who was home schooled their whole life, but it would be interesting to get their perspective.  I think home schooling can work if parents are truly dedicated to teaching, but I think that the cons outweigh the pros in this case, and I would stick with public school for my kids. 

Will American Students Begin Learning Chinese in Public Schools?

Will American Students Begin Learning Chinese in Public Schools?


I have always found other languages exciting and interesting to learn, although I always wished that we started learning foreign languages at a younger age.  In the public schools that I have attended a foreign language option was not offered to us until late in middle school. It has been proven that the best time to learn a language is when children are at the young, elementary school age because they will absorb new information better at this time in their lives.  Lately there has been a lot of talk about whether students in all schools will eventually be taught Chinese as a foreign language.  I think this is interesting because China is becoming increasingly powerful economically, so learning their language could be beneficial.  I think that if students in schools begin getting taught the Chinese language that it start while they are in elementary school.

In the New York Times Online there is an interesting debate section that highlights many reasons that experts in the subject discuss the likelihood of American elementary school aged students being taught the Chinese language in public schools.  Author, Bruce Fuller urges that Americans better start learning Chinese, and soon.  This is because the U.S. and China have such a fused economic connection and China holds 1.8 trillion dollars in U.S. bonds.  East Asia is growing at an exponential rate in terms of population and economy and will soon surpass the U.S., which is why it would be advantageous for us to learn their language.  Statistics show that

"Mandarin Chinese is already the most popular first language on the planet, beating out English by 500 million speakers."  

The Voice of America News Online has an article that explains how the Beijing government has funded the teaching of Chinese to American Students and how it has already been implemented in some U.S. schools.  The Chinese government is spending 25 million dollars per year to start the spread of teaching Chinese as a foreign language. In the first World Chinese Conference last year U.S. diplomats and teachers were sent to learn how to teach and export Mandarin ways. It is estimated that about 1,600 U.S. public and private schools are teaching Chinese which is over 300 more than last year. This trend is catching on, and a lot of school systems are accepting because the Chinese government is paying for most of these teachers salaries.  

So will students really all begin learning Chinese? I believe this is not a change that will take place overnight, but it is beginning to catch on and we can expect to see it being taught or offered in most of our schools in the future.  I think that children now learning the Chinese language will greatly benefit them and give them an advantage in their future since they make up such a large amount of the global population.  It also shows that the U.S. has opened itself more towards learning the culture of others. 

Introduction

Hello everyone! My name is Rachael Tampone and I am from Peabody Massachusetts.  I attended the University of Rhode Island my freshman year of college, and transfered to Salem State College as a sophomore. Currently I am a senior that will be graduating this May! I'm very excited and have begun looking into graduate school at Salem State.  I'm a psychology major, and have an interest in helping children by working as a school psychologist.  I have always loved helping and teaching children, which is what I currently do at the after school program every day.  Kids are fun, energetic, and eager to learn which makes working with them a good experience.  I am creating this blog to go along with my EDU100 class.  This is the first education class I have taken at Salem State.  I chose to take this class because I want to get a foundation in teaching since I plan to work in a school setting in the future. I look forward to observing classrooms and learning about education this semester! Here I will provide my thoughts on varies education and social topics. Thanks for reading!

My friends and I at the Audubon

Before my 21st birthday

My dodgeball team haha

Last Summer

My boyfriend and I before going to Boston

Everyone